Sophie Cunningham makes stance clear on NFL’s decision to ban Bills fan after shocking Lamar Jackson shoving incident

Sophie Cunningham made her feelings clear on the NFL’s decision to ban the fan who shoved Lamar Jackson. During the Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills game on Sunday, a fan shoved wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The incident occurred near the end of the third quarter after Hopkins caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Jackson. The fan first shoved Hopkins’ helmet before doing the same to Jackson, who pushed the fan back.

On Monday, the NFL decided to ban the fan from all stadiums indefinitely. Speaking on her “Show Me Something” podcast on Tuesday, Cunningham was fully in agreement with the NFL’s decision while discussing the incident with her co-host.

“I agree with that (the NFL’s ban), he should. You can’t be hitting people like that, right?” she said. “Definitely can’t be doing that.” (Timestamp: 26:50)

Cunningham has had her own share of trouble with the fans this season. The Fever guard was hit with a sex toy during the Fever-Sparks game on August 6. A few days before the incident, Cunningham had written a message on X, pleading with fans to stop throwing sex toys on the court during WNBA games.

“It’s not great”: Sophie Cunningham on Angel Reese’s comments about the Chicago Sky

Continuing her conversation on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, Sophie Cunningham also touched on Angel Reese’s situation with the Chicago Sky.

Reese had to publicly apologize and was suspended for the first half of the Sky-Aces on Sunday after the team deemed her comments to the Chicago Tribune as detrimental to the team.

Discussing her comments on Tuesday, Sophie Cunningham empathized with Reese before agreeing that her comments were wrong.

“It’s not great. I get it… There are just some things that you can’t say. I’m a very team-first person. I always put the team before my feelings and I think that should be a standard,” she said. “You've got to protect your locker room. You just can’t be saying everything you’re feeling.”

Reese missed Friday’s game against the Indiana Fever after accumulating too many technical fouls throughout the season. The Sky suspended her for the first half of Sunday’s game against the Aces, but Reese has not played since, missing three straight games.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan